On Monday, Israel observed a national memorial day: the ‘Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day’ or as we call it ‘Yom HaShoah’. It is an annual day of commemoration for the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany (1939-1945).

Yom HaShoah starts at sundown. You start feeling the heavy silence weighing in. Radios play sad songs, tv stations only broadcasts World War II related films/documentaries, restaurants and bars are closed by law. There are official ceremonies like the central one in ‘Warsaw Ghetto Square’ at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Authority in Jerusalem. During the ceremony the national flag is lowered to half mast, the President and the Prime Minister both deliver speeches, Holocaust survivors and their descendants light six torches symbolizing the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust and the Chief Rabbis recite prayers. There are more ceremonies and services are held at schools, military bases and by other public and community organizations.

At 10:00 am on Yom HaShoah, sirens are sounded throughout Israel for two minutes. During this time, people stop whatever it is they’re doing and stand still; vehicles stop, even on the highways, and the whole country comes to a standstill as people pay silent tribute to the dead.

(c) Reuters

(c) Reuters

(c) Reuters

I guess we each have our own individual way of mourning the deaths of our ancestors, family members and re-thinking the almost unbelievable stories from survivors. Most of the Jewish people around the world have grown up with the Holocaust being very present, sometimes loudly sometimes silently. It’s sad that even today people get away with denying it and that there is such a thing called neo-Nazis. Adolf Hitler had a plan he called the final solution -the endlösung- to decimate the entire Jewish people. During Yom HaShoah in Israel you realize: we are still here. The Holocaust is part of us, of our (hi)story and each time we try to imagine what it was like, we just can’t believe it nor contain it. Those black and white images of starving people, concentration camps and gas chambers. We are shocked time and time again. How could this happen? How could the world let it happen? Many have tried to understand, to explain and to analyze. In times like today when the world is plunged in hatred and anti-semitism is never far away, we must open our eyes and see what is going on. We must remember. Never again.

… AND BELGIUM (by Josephine)

As most of the European countries, Belgium also has an infamous Holocaust past. Between August 4 1942 and July 31 1944, 28 trains left the Belgian transit prison Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen. Over 25,000 Jews and Romas were deported, most of whom arrived at the extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only 5% survived. Today, the Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights tells their story and most of all, keeps their memory alive.

A giant wall filled with about 20.000 faces of men and women, young and old alike, staring back at me. It’s an uneasy sight: people who had a life still to live, or had lived their life already. Some of them happy, some of them weary. These could be the faces of our grandparents, our children, our friends and neighbors. These are the faces of the people who were deported from the detention camp Dossin in Mechelen, Belgium. Colored pictures for those who returned, grey for those who did not. The Dossin Kazerne is first of all a place of remembrance, “a material witness to a Belgian war story” as professor and curator Herman Van Goethem describes it. On initiative of a number of Jewish survivors, among them the late Sir Nathan Ramet, the transit camp Kazerne Dossin was turned into the Jewish Museum for Deportation and Resistance, to remind us of its infamous period. Since 2012, the Kazerne Dossin houses the Documentation Centre and a memorial to those who lost their lives. The permanent historical exhibition is now housed in a brand new building, designed by architect Bob Van Reeth, opposite the Kazerne Dossin. The new building is rich in symbolism: the windows for instance, are covered with more than 25.000 bricks, representing the number of deportees.

The permanent exhibition is divided in four parts. My guide, Patsi Ambach-Dewilde, unfolded the history and the ill fate of the Belgian Jews floor by floor. The first three floors cover photographs, documents and testimonies to illustrate the life of Jews (and gypsies) in Belgium before the war, the increasing discrimination and exclusion and the organized destruction of Jews and gypsies in the camps during the war. These 3 floors give a perspective on what the Holocaust meant to Belgians and Belgian Jews alike. The stories make you feel angry and sad, confused and even vulnerable: how can this have happened? But the Museum does not stop here. It also brings up the topic of rehabilitation, coming to terms with the past and Human Rights in general. I learned that after the liberation, there was no place for Jewish suffering. Survivors simply did not talk about their grief, let alone discuss the things they witnessed and what had happened to them in the camps. They simply had to learn how to live with it. But the most interesting debate this Museum tries to stimulate is this of the Holocaust and Human Rights. By explicitly incorporating human rights not only in the name of the Museum, but also as a general topic, it broadens the context of the Shoah. Not only Anti-Semitism, but intolerance in general are always with us. Attempting to place the Shoah beyond itself by addressing values such as tolerance, respect and responsibility is also one of the keystones of the new Museum, which will leave its visitors with only one idea about the Holocaust: “Never again.”

Watch a video about the Museum on Holocaust and Human Rights, Kazerne Dossin by Fans of Flanders with Patsi Ambach-Dewilde here.

Dedicated to Nathan Ramet, Regina & Adolf Predinger-Wechsler, and the millions of people who lost their life due to racism, hatred, discrimination and genocide everywhere and anywhere. May they never be forgotten.

We always like to hear stories about how people get inspired, develop their talents and chase their dreams. It’s even more interesting when the story is about a young girl from Antwerp who found her inspiration in Tel Aviv. This particular story is about Magali Pinchasi, a young creative girl with a passion for jewelry, fashion and color. I met Magali in a little coffee bar. Modest but proud and continuously smiling she talks about her life, her jewelry collection and her connection to both Antwerp and Tel Aviv.

22 year old something Magali Pinchasi has been fascinated by jewelry ever since she was little, which isn’t all that surprising since her dad works in the diamond industry. Magali holds a degree in communication sciences and did her internship in Public Relations. After graduating from University she took a jewelry design course at London’s Gemological Institute of America, but it was a vacation in Tel Aviv that did wonders for Magali’s inspiration. While walking past the little souvenir stalls in Neve Tzedek, an idea started to develop: creating unique mix & match jewelry that would not only suit everyone, but would also be affordable for everyone. Back in Antwerp she ordered a whole lot of rope and trinkets and started making bracelets. Why rope? “Rope has unlimited options: colors, textures, etc. It’s a very affordable material for a large audience. Rope is very flexible and manageable. Since I make every bracelet myself , it’s much more interesting time-wise.”

A night out made Magali decide to turn her hobby into an actual jewelry business. “I constantly wear my own bracelets. One night, a girl approached me at a party and asked me where I got them from. This was the push i needed to actually get my bracelets out there.” Magali named her brand “BE by Magali Pinchasi”. “BE stands for Beautiful and Belgian, since all the jewelry is 100% made in Belgium”. She started selling the bracelets online on her website. Magali quickly build a reputation by using social media. Soon bloggers contacted her and not much later Magali scored an interview for Steps City magazine. This interview was proof that her business was getting more and more serious and orders started pouring in. Her collections are now being sold in stores such as Princess Blue (Antwerp) and Blue Rose (Wilrijk). Every bracelet is handmade by Magali herself, which makes every piece even more unique. Customers can also personalize the bracelets if they want to by filling in the request form online.

For the new collection Magali will use diamonds in her bracelets. “My first motivation is to create, to discover new things. That’s why I work with diamonds, but with every intention to stay affordable. A diamond doesn’t have to be expensive. I don’t want to be a high-class brand. I want to create a more luxurious line within BE that remains affordable for a larger audience. And of course it would also remain as colorful as the other collections.” How about an international career? “I don’t dare to dream of an international business just yet. For now I prefer to keep production in my own hands – literally. But if Colette in Paris would ask me if they can sell my bracelets, i wouldn’t refuse! (laughs)”.

When Magali is not working our creating, she likes to walk around in Antwerp. “Every Saturday afternoon I go to the city, to shop or to walk around and watch people. I think Antwerp is a very cosy and fashionable city with a lot of diversities. There are so many kinds of people, it’s inspiring to just sit down and watch them pass by.” Her affordable mix&match-policy is not limited to her brand. When it comes to her own style Magali likes to combine Belgian brand Essentiel with Zara. “I like everything, as long as it’s colorful.” And what about Tel Aviv? “My grandmother lives in Tel Aviv, I visit her every Summer. I love to walk around Neve Tzedek, have pancakes at Benedict or just enjoy some sun at Golden Beach. Actually, I’m a big fan of all the Tel Aviv classics (smiles). Even though I could never live there, Tel Aviv is important to me. It’s where I found my inspiration.”